The problem is that the conversation keeps floating away. “Are shoes so important?” he asks. “Really? If I was a woman, I would be dressed in the same thing for a month and just change my hat and gloves. Maybe my shoes too; yes, I see what you mean but, really, it’s jewels that change an outfit. And I do love gloves. And I adddore hats. There are toooo many shoes now. I always tell the children,” – Blahnik is an honorary professor at the Royal College of Art and the “children” are his students – “‘Don’t do shoes! Do hats!’ And the shoes are so strange, so vulgar. I hate these platforms that are all over the place today; they are all about grabbing attention. They are suburban! I never do a platform. Well, I did, in the 1970s, but that was a bad experience.”

[…]

“I detest this period of fantasy we were in where you had something for three seconds and then you threw it away,” he says, opening his eyes wide in horror. “The last few years have been a nightmare! It’s one thing to have a dream, but this was overkill! I was in Los Angeles last year, because they were giving me that award where they can spit on you and stomp on you. What’s it called? A star on the Walk of Style?” He means the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style, a series of plaques awarded to fashion and style legends that are embedded into a Beverly Hills pavement. “Yes, the Walk of Style. They asked me who I wanted to give me the award: Chloë Sevigny? I said, ‘No, I don’t get her.’ Lucy Liu? Oh, she was divine, I looooove oriental girls. Do you love oriental girls? And she was wearing something by [Givenchy designer] Riccardo Tisci, who is my favourite boy – what were we talking about?”

In the humble opinion of the Shoeblogger, this is one of the best articles ever written about the Maestro Manolo Blahnik. You must go read the whole thing.

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It’s quaint the way he calls Asians “oriental.” It seems to take a decade or so for non-native English speakers to catch up to the times. I actually find charming in them, what we would consider politically incorrect in native speakers who ought to know better.

I’m Asian, but while I found his usage of “oriental” a bit odd, it did not offend me. Keep in mind that the Maestro’s English is actually British English, where the word “oriental” carries no negative connotations.

Oriental simply refers to persons of Japanese, Korean, or Chinese decent (such as Lucy Liu), and and those of certain SE Asian countries like Vietnam (such as myself). The term “Asian” includes all Orientals as well as those of Mideast and the Indian subcontinent (really, anyone who is descended from any place in Asia except Russia).

So when the Maestro said “Oriental”, he was just being very specific as to what kind of girls he loves :)

oriental is a specific word for you that you always said this word it dos not matter but a girls belong to a soft heart emotion and caring personality.
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reshu

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Disclaimer: Manolo the Shoeblogger is not Mr. Manolo Blahnik. This website is not affiliated in any way with Mr. Manolo Blahnik, any products bearing the federally registered trademarks MANOlO®, BlAHNIK® or MANOlO BlAHNIK®, or any licensee of said federally registered trademarks. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the author.